Wow, someone suggested looking thru 1 million U-Tube Videos for a clue! I am also a N.Bie with Linux and find hunting thru /usr/bin directory's in hopes of finding the program I installed which isn't showing in the Mint Applications Menu REMINDS me of 1980s TRS-80's or Z-80 cmds, and some really comparative primitive shell cmd operations.Is it really that difficult after 2 full years of the same problem 2009-2011 to not have a Application Menu show the files which are EXECUTABLE for that Linux Mint User? REALLY?

Hunting for executable files in multiple Linux directory's because the lame application menu is not updating with the software you just installed is asking plenty from Linux N.Bies instead of fixing the rather serious BUG which is blocking the updating of a wide range of installed software from showing up in the Linux Mint Application Menus.

Currently, all I can suggest is take out your pitchfork to dig thru the haystack of files and have a folder on your desktop for /usr/bin you can easily look thru in hope your executable file in the program you just installed ended up there where you can then deal with it. Another disappointment is the Whereis cmd not finding a application sometimes, oh but digging thru 1,000+ files manually turns it up, oh joy!

I needed to install 'alacarte' so that the Main_Menu would appear within the menu system.That allowed me to add and modify my menu icons as needed.I should mention that this is using the Gnome Classic UI.I would count the omission of Main_Menu from the basic install as a significant blunder.

davidvj wrote:I needed to install 'alacarte' so that the Main_Menu would appear within the menu system.That allowed me to add and modify my menu icons as needed.I should mention that this is using the Gnome Classic UI.I would count the omission of Main_Menu from the basic install as a significant blunder.

David

God, David, thanks! I wouldn't have figured this out without your post. A significant blunder, indeed.

Hi I am new to Linux.Wanted to get away from the windows conglamorate and after some reading decided to install Mint 12.Found the options for configuring the destktop dissapointing and tried to download MintMenu to help. Then realized that a number of the apps I had downloaded wouldn't show up in the menu. As I was reading up on it in this thread it seems to me my menu and desktop isn't all there...people talk about right clicks in the menu and bars top and bottom (which seem a waste of space if I can't modify them or add shortcuts...) I get no popups with rightclicks anywhere.Also the desktop settings panel made me suspicious: it only shows the Terminal (select fortune cookies...) as an option. Never thought much of Microsoft, but this is lame.Please somebody tell me I'm missing something or help me figure out how to make this desktop a little more accessible.

I am running a AMD 64X2 4200+ X2 64 bit Gallium 0.4 on NV4C with 4 gig ramI installed off a live CD download and then upgraded to full DVD installation through the menu.Something DID go wrong after the install, as there was an old GRUB loader on one of my drives from a previous Linux version. I booted off a windows disk and rebuild the MBR and Mint loaded seemingly fine. It DID mess up the other harddrive, but I had only aloted SWAP space to a partition on it.

Anyway. It is Gnome at fault here. The Gnome Shell (integral part of Gnome 3) is so rigid that it doesn't allow context menus and editing anywhere. If you log out and select Mate from the "tool" menu, you'll get a more Gnome 2-like environment where you can actually edit things. But Mate is still unstable so bugs are inevitable. Mint team is developing their own environment called Cinnamon (very easy to install and try) that relies on Gnome 3 but is customizable and looks more traditional (read: normal). It is as well under heavy development and buggy at times, but, for me, it's the only acceptable option. Basically, you either have the option of learning how to beat Gnome 3 into submission (through extensions mainly, but hacks and tricks as well) or install a different environment: like Cinnamon (Mint's own, brand new), Xfce (light weight, looks sort of like Gnome 2), KDE (This and Gnome are the biggest players. If want you go this route, try Mint KDE Edition.) etc.

For any given application that you or I might download+install, via "Software Manager" or via "sudo apt-get install mumbo jumbo..." or via "Synaptic":

JimmySho writes a neato app and elects to share it with the world. Jimmy is a C++ geek, and uses BSD Unix(he knows/cares little about "Linux" nor "Gnome" nor "Synaptic" nor "Mint Frosting Menu")-=-SammyHo finds Jimmy's app useful, and he ports it to Linux, packaged as an rpm.-=-CindyCho, who happens to be a Debian user/developer, AND happens to speak little bit likey English good yes... repackages the app as a deb. Cindy struggles to come up with translations for the button labels of the app's GTK interface and, with the help of other multilingual Debian package maintainers, cobbles together multilingual "Name" and "Comment" text for the app's .desktop file.

Documentation? There's a convention (/usr/share/doc) for including docs(ref: http://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/ch-docs.html )but no firm requirement to include docs with each package. Perhaps for Jimmy's app, no docs exist until you or I learn Mandarin and undertake translation and submit docs for our language to the app's package maintainers.

Scroll back to Post #20 in this thread, then scroll forward to Post #40.If the app was installed from a .deb package, then via the Synaptic GUI we can find the app's manifest of "installed files".Was a .desktop file installed for the app? If not, why not?Perhaps the app is intended to launch via commandline, or terminal, and the package maintainer didn't presume to guesswhether (for your install) the appropriate launch command is "gksu jimmyapp" or "kdesu -t %c --mumbolala jimmyapp"

Where do .desktop files reside (on your system)?open a terminal and type locate .desktopAha.Now, type sudo locate .desktop and you may discover additional installed apps which aren't available to (displayed in the menu for) your "regular" user account.Following installation of a new app, before attempting to list (locate) its .desktop, might want/need to refresh the lookup table by typingupdatedb (and/or read man updatedb to learn what this command does)

Operating from inside the GUI shell, each time we "create a launcher" or "edit a menu entry", the result is creation of a new .desktop file, under the home directory of our user account. Each of these "local" .desktop files trumps any same-named systemwide .desktop file (residing in /usr/share/applications or other "pathed' dirs). You own these "local" shortcuts (and probably will need to manually delete a "local" launcher which points to an UNinstalled app).

Don't bother "going all sudo" and editing the auto-created (by installer) copies of .desktop file(s) residing in ...xdg path.All of these are overwritten by the installer (and your edits lost), as a step in the process each time a new package is installed, upgraded, or uninstalled. If you want to create "customized" .desktop files and intend these to be available to all user accounts on your system... your customized files will need to reside elsewhere (in a pathed dir under /opt or /skel ) (i don't have a reference bookmark at hand for this)

Is there a way I can get to the apps I can't see in my menu ? Can I make shortcuts to them somehow ?

drreuss wrote:Thanks for the info.Is there a way I can get to the apps I can't see in my menu ? Can I make shortcuts to them somehow ?

If you're on Gnome, use Alacarte (package name is alacarte, in the menu it's displayed as "Main Menu"), that will allow you to edit the menus easily.For the apps, you don't have to care where they are because they'll be automatically added to the path, so just trying the command anywhere will be enough. Knowing that, you can use Alacarte to add whatever launcher to the menu, you just select the display name, and the command to run and, optionally, an icon. For desktop launchers, I'm not sure for Gnome Shell as I rarely use it, but you can find everything you need in the Mint Tips topic. Remember, making a launcher requires only that you know the command, not the location, and the command is in 99% the name of the app.

Hi I'm using LinuxMint 12 (gnome) -mate desktop on a iMac.Installed simplebackup (usr/bin/simplebackup and /man.....) No icon to be seen in menu; going to /usr/bin and entering ./simplebackup, message:

stat: cannot stat `/home/diederic/.simplebackup.conf': No such file or directory./simplebackup: line 81: /home/diederic/.simplebackup.conf: No such file or directoryRight clicking on menu, and then on Edit menu: nothing????What to do??Thanks,Diederic

Hi I've installed LM-13, fine. However, same problem with Simplebackup. I manually added it to the menu (couldn't find an icon), and no luck.Starting Simple backup from the terminal prodices the message:

~ /usr/bin $ ./simplebackupstat: cannot stat `/home/diederic/.simplebackup.conf': No such file or directory./simplebackup: line 81: /home/diederic/.simplebackup.conf: No such file or directoryNB same as Mar 13/12. Home /diederic does indeed not contain the line ./simplebackup.So what now?

Hi I've installed LM14; most things are fine.However, clicking on *simplebackup in terminal, produces the following message (as in LM 13) :[code]diederic@LM14-iMac /usr/bin $ ./simplebackupstat: cannot stat `/home/diederic/.simplebackup.conf': No such file or directory./simplebackup: line 81: /home/diederic/.simplebackup.conf: No such file or directory

outerdimensions wrote:Hi a am a New.B to linux. I have used the package manager to install some apps but they do not show up in the menu ??? went i try to add a new item ther do not show up as being available ??in win XP etc the apps are in the program files directory.. but where R they in Linux ????Oh & after runing the mint update my VMware virtual box XP doesn't work any more either can some one PLZ helpThanks